How often have we come across the phrase “there is no such thing as depression or anxiety”? At least, I have come across the phrase quite often, especially when I was diagnosed with depression and people around me told me, “you are being dramatic there is no such thing as depression.” I found myself relating to Oviya and her surrounding ever since I found out that she is mentally disturbed on another level and requested for medical help.

I remember taking a friend of mine with me to the psychiatrist and when the doctor said that I have depression, he got furious and began screaming the words, “why does she call you loosu (mental)?” This is the perception our country holds today about depression, anxiety or any sort of mental illness.

Let me make this clear to Bigg Boss and to the rest of the audience: mental illness doesn’t mean a person is mad or mental illness is not a bad word. If someone says she/he is mentally ill or disturbed, they are not cursing them or swearing at them. Hospitals treating mental illness is not an asylum or hospitals for mad people.

For the past week or two, the most loved contestant Oviya has not been in the right frame of mind. Dr. Sivabalan rightfully told The News Minute, “A show like this, if it is really not scripted, brings to the forefront the real personalities of people. They are living in a closed environment and it brings out the survival instinct in each. Some do this by getting along with everyone, some choose not to react to anything and keep others at a distance, some try to assert their personality over that of others. It also depends on the different tolerance levels of people.”